Firefighters apply a steady stream of water during the Pioneer International Hotel fire in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 20, 1970. / AP file photo

by Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic

by Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic

TUCSON, Ariz. - A man who was convicted of setting a fire that killed 29 people in a downtown Tucson hotel became a free man Tuesday after entering a no-contest plea that ended his 41 years in prison.

"It feels good to just feel Mother Earth underneath my feet, free Mother Earth," said Louis Taylor, stepping outside the gates in a blue shirt and dark blue pants that took the place of the prison-issue orange he wore earlier in the day.

Louis Taylor was arrested at age 16, hours after the Hotel Pioneer caught fire in December 1970. He was convicted of 28 counts of murder in March 1972.

But lawyers who worked on Taylor's case on behalf of the Arizona Justice Project asked the court in October to toss out his conviction, saying the science on fires had changed dramatically.

"By today's standards, there is no evidence that arson caused the Pioneer Hotel fire," the lawyers wrote in a court motion.

Taylor said the full story of the hotel fire has not yet been told.

"It's two tragedies, the Pioneer Hotel fire and me getting convicted for it," he said.

Asked what his future plans were, Taylor said, "I'm going to cook my own breakfast." He then got into his attorney's car and was whisked away.

In court, Taylor's lawyer, Ed Novak, told the judge that a no-contest plea allowed Taylor to maintain his innocence but gain his freedom. Prosecutors said that if a new trial were granted, they would have a difficult time presenting a case because evidence had been destroyed and many key witnesses had since died.

Taylor, now 59, dressed in prison-issued orange T-shirt and pants, his head shaved bald, did not address the court before his sentencing.

He spoke the words "no contest," after Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Fields read each count against him. The 28 counts provided a roll call of the victims in the fire.

The last names hinted at the heartbreak as the list included the six members of the Luken family and five members of the Antillon family.

Although 29 people perished as a result of the fire, Taylor was charged with only the 28 deaths that occurred immediately. A person who died in the hospital weeks later was not among the charges.

Paul d'Hedouville, who was 4 when his father, Paul, was killed in the fire addressed the court, saying he did not want those who died to be simply a list of names.

"Those 29 souls are inexorably linked together by history," he told the court. "May their souls rest in peace."

D'Hedouville said his father had expected his family to celebrate Christmas at the Pioneer and had presents in his suite. His father ended up being buried on Christmas Eve, his son said. He woke up Christmas morning asking his mother who would play Santa Claus since his father was gone.

"I harbor no feelings of ill will or vengeance against you," d'Hedouville said from the witness stand, addressing Taylor directly.

D'Hedouville said he respected the judicial system that was giving Taylor his freedom.

"Do as you choose, Mr. Taylor," D'Hedouville said. "But choose wisely and do not waste your new beginning of life."

Fields ordered that Taylor be released. At the end of the hearing, Taylor broke into a grin shook the hands of his lawyers. He was expected to be transported to the Arizona State Prison here where he will be processed and released.

Taylor's case was featured nationally Sunday on 60 Minutes. The CBS news magazine had raised questions about his case in a story that aired in 2002. That story attracted the attention of the Arizona Justice Project, whose volunteer lawyers have worked since to free Taylor.

Most of those killed in the fire were found in the hotel's hallways or in their rooms, dead of burns and smoke inhalation. Among the dead were the hotel's owners, who had been assured by front desk clerks that the fire was under control. Some people also leaped to their deaths from their room windows.

The lead fire investigator on the case at the time told The Associated Press on Monday that he stands by his determination that the fire was arson.

"Yes, definitely, there's no question about it," said Cy Holmes, now 83.

Rescue efforts at the time were hampered because the fire department's tallest ladders could reach only the ninth floor. The building, one of the city's first high rises when it opened in 1929, is 11 stories tall.

Taylor was arrested hours after the fire because a hotel employee reported seeing a suspicious African-American youth at the hotel and Taylor could not give police a good reason why he was at the hotel, his lawyers said.

At his 1972 trial, the custodian of the hotel testified that the teenager helped him try to extinguish the fire, according to a story from the Arizona Daily Star. The hotel's beverage manager testified that Taylor helped him carry injured guests to safety, another story said.

But just after the rescues, Taylor was taken for six hours of questioning. Then, he was arrested on juvenile charges of trespassing.

Taylor testified on his own behalf, proclaiming his innocence.

"All that I was doing was helping," he testified.

After a jury found him guilty, the trial judge told a reporter: "The evidence supports a conviction, but I would not have convicted him myself."

It is not known where Taylor will live after his release. Novak, his lawyer, said before the hearing that transportation and housing had been arranged for Taylor outside of Tucson.

Michael Fierro, 29, who served prison time with Taylor, stood in the gallery of spectators, grimacing to hold back tears at the hearing. Fierro said Taylor was well respected in prison.

"He said he would show his innocence one way or another," Fierro said. "He had it deep down that he was innocent."

Fierro said Taylor did not have any family that he knew of. He had kept contact with only a handful of friends he met in prison.